Shepard's Shore Long Barrow is a Neolithic long barrow near Bishops Cannings in Wiltshire, England. The barrow is part of the larger Cotswold-Severn Group, a concentration of long barrows grouped in Western England.
Description While the Shepard's Shore Barrow's height has been degraded due to ploughing, the feature's oval shape rises .2 meters off the ground. It is long and wide and has a ENE-WSW orientation. The barrow was constructed with chalk rubble covering a grave that contained both inhumations and cremains above a floor made of oolite and sarsen stones.Bray, E. (n.d.). (rep.). Long Barrow 495C Shepard's Shore, Wiltshire. Report on Geophysical Survey November 1997. London, England: English Heritage.
In 1914, the barrow was excavated after ploughing uncovered unexpected sarsen stones. There was evidence the site had been previously disturbed during the modern area, as a tobacco pipe was found at a lower layer. Below the disturbed layer, the excavation uncovered the incomplete skeletal remains of at least five individuals, both child and adult, and evidence of additional cremated remains. The bones were disarticulated and multiple vertebrae had been strung along a human rib bone.Cunningham, M. E. (1927). Barrow Near Shepard's Shore. Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, 43, 397–398.
Shepard's Shore Barrow is in proximity to a number of other historically significant landmarks. There are three bronze age bowl barrows 200 meters north of the site; the southernmost one was excavated in the 19th century and female remains were found. The long barrow is also 500 meters from the Wansdyke earthworks.
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